xvi, 496 pages, 24 unnumbered pages of plates : 24 cm

"The controversial story of Chanel, the twentieth century's foremost fashion icon. Revolutionizing women's dress, Gabrielle 'Coco' Chanel was the twentieth century's most influential designer. Her extraordinary and unconventional journey-from abject poverty to a new kind of glamour- helped forge the idea of modern woman. Unearthing an astonishing life, this remarkable biography shows how, more than any previous designer, Chanel became synonymous with a rebellious and progressive style. Her numerous liaisons, whose poignant and tragic details have eluded all previous biographers, were the very stuff of legend. Witty and mesmerizing, she became muse, patron, or mistress to the century's most celebrated artists, including Picasso, Dalí, and Stravinsky. Drawing on newly discovered love letters and other records, Chaney's controversial book reveals the truth about Chanel's drug habit and lesbian affairs. And the question about Chanel's German lover during World War II (was he a spy for the Nazis?) is definitively answered. While uniquely highlighting the designer's far-reaching influence on the modern arts, Chaney's fascinating biography paints a deeper and darker picture of Coco Chanel than any so far. Movingly, it explores the origins, the creative power, and the secret suffering of this exceptional and often misread woman."--Publisher's website

Includes bibliographical references (pages 469-477) and index

Prologue: you're proud, you'll suffer -- Forebears -- The bad one -- The lost years -- Things that I should be and which I am not -- A rich man's game -- Captive mistress -- Arthur Capel -- Refashioning Paris -- 'The Rite of Spring' -- The end of an spoque -- Master of her art -- The war bans the bizarre -- Remember that you're a women -- Alone -- Beginning again -- The strangest and most brillant years -- Dmitri Pavlovich -- The lucky N°5 -- Entirely in white and covered in pearls -- Reverdy -- At the centre -- Bend'Or -- The crash -- Schiap had lots of it but it was bad -- War -- Survivial -- Von Dincklage -- Exile -- Retur:1954 -- I prefer disaster to nothingness -- I only hear my heart on the stairs -- Afterword:those on whom legends are built are their legends

"The controversial story of Chanel, the twentieth century's foremost fashion icon. Revolutionizing women's dress, Gabrielle 'Coco' Chanel was the twentieth century's most influential designer. Her extraordinary and unconventional journey-from abject poverty to a new kind of glamour- helped forge the idea of modern woman. Unearthing an astonishing life, this remarkable biography shows how, more than any previous designer, Chanel became synonymous with a rebellious and progressive style. Her numerous liaisons, whose poignant and tragic details have eluded all previous biographers, were the very stuff of legend. Witty and mesmerizing, she became muse, patron, or mistress to the century's most celebrated artists, including Picasso, Dali, and Stravinsky. Drawing on newly discovered love letters and other records, Chaney's controversial book reveals the truth about Chanel's drug habit and lesbian affairs. And the question about Chanel's German lover during World War II (was he a spy for the Nazis?) is definitively answered. While uniquely highlighting the designer's far-reaching influence on the modern arts, Chaney's fascinating biography paints a deeper and darker picture of Coco Chanel than any so far. Movingly, it explores the origins, the creative power, and the secret suffering of this exceptional and often misread woman."--Publisher's website

Prologue: you're proud, you'll suffer -- Forebears -- The bad one -- The lost years -- Things that I should be and which I am not -- A rich man's game -- Captive mistress -- Arthur Capel -- Refashioning Paris -- 'The Rite of Spring' -- The end of an spoque -- Master of her art -- The war bans the bizarre -- Remember that you're a women -- Alone -- Beginning again -- The strangest and most brillant years -- Dmitri Pavlovich -- The lucky N℗ʻ5 -- Entirely in white and covered in pearls -- Reverdy -- At the centre -- Bend'Or -- The crash -- Schiap had lots of it but it was bad -- War -- Survivial -- Von Dincklage -- Exile -- Retur:1954 -- I prefer disaster to nothingness -- I only hear my heart on the stairs -- Afterword:those on whom legends are built are their legends

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